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This Sunday night, WWE will be presenting the 2019 edition of Survivor Series, one of the company's big four PPV events which closes out the year and has become a Thanksgiving holiday tradition.
In the past, the Survivor Series PPV has been best known to feature several traditional 10-Man Tag Team Elimination matches, but in recent years, the PPV has featured the battle for WWE brand supremacy between RAW and SmackDown.
This year, the PPV adds an extra layer of competition to its brand warfare theme, incorporating the stars of NXT into the fold to battle the Superstars of RAW and SmackDown.
Heading into the PPV, numerous stars of NXT, RAW, and SmackDown all have momentum heading into both WarGames and Survivor Series, but several Superstars could really benefit from a win on Sunday night.
Given the above, let's take a look at 5 WWE stars who desperately need a win at this year's Survivor Series PPV.
#5 Rey Mysterio
This week on WWE Backstage, CM Punk offered little praise for WWE's current TV product, but he did speak highly of Rey Mysterio and Brock Lesnar, and predicted the two will have a good match this weekend at Survivor Series.
Despite Punk's comments, I remain skeptical that WWE will give Mysterio and Lesnar anymore than a minute or two, but given the recent addition of the No Holds Barred stipulation for the match, it is possible the bout between David and Goliath might be better than one might predict.
The possibility now exists for people like Dominick, Rey Mysterio's son, and others who have fallen victim to Brock Lesnar, to enter the match and exact revenge on 'The Beast.' There is little doubt that WWE would allow Rey Mysterio to defeat Brock Lesnar clean on PPV without some kind of assistance, but given the fact that Mysterio really needs a win on PPV, it just might happen with the stipulation in place.
#4 Shinsuke Nakamura
It's hard to believe that Shinsuke Nakamura currently holds one of the most prestigious titles in WWE, considering he rarely defends it. Nakamura, the current Intercontinental Champion, will do battle at Survivor Series in a Triple Threat match, pitting Nakamura against United States Champion AJ Styles, and NXT North American Champion Roderick Strong.
The bout will see Nakamura face-off against his former WrestleMania opponent AJ Styles, this time with the addition of another excellent in-ring wrestler in Roderick Strong. While many NXT fans would surely like to see Strong pick up the win over two great main roster competitors, Shinsuke Nakamura needs a big PPV victory more than Styles and Strong.
Styles is consistently booked well on WWE TV, and Roderick Strong has great momentum on NXT TV carrying the North American title and representing Undisputed Era, but Shinsuke Nakamura has been lost in the main roster shuffle for so long that a win over the likes of Styles and Strong could really give him and the IC title a very needed boost. The bout can be booked as follows: Nakamura wins in cheap fashion, keeping Styles and Strong looking solid despite a loss, and helping Nakamura in the long run.
#3 Kevin Owens
Over the summer, it looked like WWE was positioning Kevin Owens to be the top babyface on SmackDown, as he was being molded into what many fans were dubbing Steve Austin 2.0.
However, prior to and during the hype for this year's WWE draft, Kevin Owens got lost in the shuffle somewhere, and his status as the top guy on SmackDown was wavering, as was the tremendous momentum KO had been building since turning babyface.
Owens was then moved to the RAW brand in the WWE Draft, and he still has yet to find firm footing on the Monday night brand, despite being used in the main event segment of this week's show, and having a tremendous match against Drew McIntyre.
Owens is a talent who could really benefit from a big win on PPV, and with KO representing the RAW brand in the traditional elimination match at Survivor Series this Sunday night, it might be a good idea to have KO end up the sole survivor of his team, or at the very least be one on the last men to survive in the bout. Owens needs a breakout moment to solidify his status on RAW, and return him to main event level hype.
#2 Lacey Evans
For the first time ever, a Triple Threat Elimination Tag Team match will take place at Survivor Series, and the bout will see Team RAW battle Team SmackDown and Team NXT in a match boasting 15 women.
Team SmackDown will consist of Sasha Banks, Nikki Cross, Lacey Evans, Carmella and Dana Brooke, and of the five women, it could be argued that Lacey Evans would most benefit from being on the winning team.
Sasha Banks is always positioned at the top of the WWE Women's Division, Nikki Cross is a star on the rise on the Red brand, and Carmella and Dana Brooke have rarely been treated as serious competitors in the division. Lacey Evans, on the other hand, is a talent that is poised to take the next step on RAW and ascend to the top of the division.
Earlier this year, Evans was given a tag team title match alongside Baron Corbin for the RAW Women's title, but after the loss, Evans disappeared from TV for a short period of time, but has since been gaining steady momentum since making her return. A big win at Survivor Series could help give Evans the boost she needs in the Women's Division on SmackDown.
#1 Bayley
WWE SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley is set to compete in a Triple Threat Champion vs Champion vs Champion match at WWE Survivor Series, and the former hugger will battle RAW Champion Becky Lynch and NXT Champion Shayna Baszler.
The build to the Women's Triple Threat match at the PPV has focused more on Becky Lynch and the numerous main roster invasions from Shayna Baszler and her Four Horsewomen comrades. Many fans have felt like Bayley has been playing second-fiddle, or more appropriately, third-fiddle, to both Lynch and Baszler.
At one point in the match build, the WWE India account completely ignored Bayley's presence in the match, and the SmackDown Champ took notice. Additionally, Bayley was somewhat overlooked in a video produced by the company which featured only Shayna Baszler and Becky Lynch, and Bayley was quick to respond.
Bayley, who is likely being viewed as the underdog in this match, could really benefit from the match win and solidify herself as a champion equal to Becky Lynch. Baszler taking the fall in the match does not hurt her credibility as she has never competed on the main roster, so Bayley securing the win over the NXT Women's Champion would benefit everyone involved in the match, and would also protect Becky Lynch.
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